‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’, the ninth film by Director Quentin Tarantino, as the posters declare, is in large parts a documentary of a fictional actor. And despite the fictional liberties the makers can take, this film is slow, boring and almost unbearable at points.
The movie starts in black and white, with Leonardo DiCaprio starring in a cowboy western series. The basic premise is about how he is a fading star whose only reliable companion is his stunt double (played by Brad Pitt).
Don’t know if it would be an exaggeration, but I think at least 20 minutes of the film is just various actors driving around town. I fast-forwarded a lot of those scenes where literally nothing is happening except driving. Maybe this is an ode to a bygone era that would only be appreciated by those who were in their teens in the 60s.
If this film had not been directed by Quentin Tarantino and had lesser known but equally talented actors, this film would have disastrously bombed at the Box Office and faded from everybody’s memory. But only because THIS IS a Tarantino flick, one is forced to feel that maybe this is a masterpiece, a work of art. Bull.
Margot Robbie, who plays Sharon Tate, is nothing but a prop, and would mean nothing to the viewers who are not aware of her story. In real life, Tate was an upcoming starlet and wife of famous director Roman Polanski. Her budding career was nipped in the bud after she was brutally murdered by cult members of the Manson ‘family’. The actor had been 8.5 months pregnant. The murder is not part of the film.
‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ is only saved by some good acting on the part of Leonardo and perhaps the good physique of Brat Pitt. Pitt’s 56, but looks completely the part of a war veteran who is trying to make money by being a stuntman.
Interesting and funny only in bits, Tarantino largely wastes the potential of this film, considering the stellar cast and the money he had at hand. However, if all the reviews out there are to be believed, he has managed to make everybody believe that he indeed did make another piece of cinematic history.
For me, only the last 10-15 minutes of the film were good, because that’s were things finally pick up pace and interesting stuff happens. But it’s the classic case of too little too late. This Tarantino flick gives barely any new insights into Hollywood and to make things worse – it’s painfully slow and boring. Watch it only if you are a big Tarantino fan or like Hollywood nostalgia.
I’d started watching this but dropped it after about 5 minutes. Somehow if a movie’s opening sequences don’t speak to me, I can’t sit through them.